Monaco has the second largest Ligue 1 payroll, an estimated €147 million, with only Paris Saint-Germain carrying a heavier load.
AS Monaco and Rennes are the only two clubs to have managed to reach such an agreement with players.
Day: 22 May 2020
Monaco stockpiles masks
ISM adds career-related diploma to IB programme
Come the next academic year, the ISM will be offering an exciting new diploma for students wishing to pursue career-related learning.
We spoke to Head of Secondary James Wellings about why the IBCP is a perfect fit for the Monaco-based school.
Monaco Life: Can you tell us about the new diploma being offered at the International School of Monaco (ISM) from August?
Currently, we offer the International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme (IBDP), which is an exceptionally well-recognised, very good but extremely challenging programme. It’s probably the most challenging post-16 programme that exists in education, because it draws on six core subjects which are done to a high academic standard. It is brilliant for many students, but some just don’t want to do six subjects academically.
So, we wanted to find an alternative that would suit anybody. The International Baccalaureate Career-related Programme (IBCP) incorporates the educational principles of the IB into a programme specifically developed for students who wish to engage in career-related learning.
There are two subjects instead of six, and they study enterprise and entrepreneurship which is very hands-on. They actually start their own enterprise and do placements with businesses in Monaco, and they have a business mentor who is actually a successful entrepreneur.
There are no formal examinations, it is all done through coursework, so, it’s a really nice hybrid of an academic and vocational approach.
And Monaco is a city of entrepreneurs, so I don’t think there is any better place in the world to offer this course and provide a great opportunity for students.
Who is this diploma suited to?
Any student could do the IBCP. Traditional thinking is that top A-star students would always go on to do the IBDP, and many of them do because they love that academic challenge. But the IBCP can still create a lot of challenges, just in a different way. For students who don’t want to or don’t thrive in the challenge of an academic environment of six high-stakes examinations at the end of a two-year programme, this is another option for them.
We are starting with a relatively limited programme, so we are only offering enterprise and entrepreneurship for students who want to access marketing and business management degrees at university. In the future we may add more subjects, such as a sports-based subject for students who play high-level sport, and a tourism-based programme for events management.
Students who want to be a doctor or engineer, for example, do the IBDP programme, but if they want a broader range of learning in business and entrepreneurship, then the CP is just as good as the BP. So students obtain a Pearson BTEC International Level 3 Diploma in Enterprise and Entrepreneurship.
Does this diploma have a good standing at universities?
We have done a lot of due diligence, and one of the reasons we chose this particular programme is because it is accredited by the International Baccalaureate, the same organisation that created the DP programme. It is taught in more than 100 schools in 14 different countries across the world.
Do you think this may become more popular than the traditional IB diploma?
My prediction is that the IBDP will remain the most popular programme because of the standing it has within the world of education and with universities, and we think it’s a great programme, we just want to provide more choice. So, I suspect in this first year, we will have about three quarters of our students doing the DP and one quarter doing the CP. That might change a little bit in the coming years.
For parents and students who are interested in the IBCP, where can they find out more information?
Parents can just email admissions@ismonaco.com and we will send out all the details. There is also plenty of information for current and prospective parents on the ISM website https://sites.google.com/view/post-16-options/home
Next best thing: Monaco’s Virtual Grand Prix
The coronavirus may have deprived Monaco of its Grand Prix this weekend, but the show must go on with fans and players alike gearing up for the big race on Sunday.
It may not be the “real thing”, but it’s looking as if this weekend’s Virtual Monaco Grand Prix is going to be an exciting race, nonetheless, with new blood entering the circuit.
It has been confirmed that eight real-life Formula 1 pilots will be competing on Saturday, alongside top sim racers, celebrities and sports personalities. On the roster are Monaco’s Charles Leclerc for Ferrari, Lando Norris for McLaren, Alfa Romeo’s Antonio Giovinazzi, Williams drivers George Russell and Nicholas Lafiti and Red Bull’s Alex Albon will be joined by the Virtual Grand Prix debuts by Mercedes pilot Valtteri Bottas, and Esteban Ocon for Renault.
Apart from the real-world racers, Arsenal striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang makes his debut for McLaren, surfer Kai Lenny is in the driver’s seat at Red Bull, Despacito singer Luis Fonci is up for Racing Point and Real Madrid goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois is on deck with Alfa Romeo.
There will be a pre-exhibition race at 4pm before the main event which starts at 6pm on Sunday. Drivers will join the race remotely, with a host broadcast live from the Gfinity Esports Arena.
The broadcast will be available on F1.com and the official Formula 1 YouTube, Twitch, Weibo, Huya and Facebook channels. It is expected to run for 1 hour 30 minutes, with a qualifying period followed by a 39-lap race.
The Virtual Monaco Grand Prix will also be broadcast live with international broadcast partners in over 100 countries, including Sky Sports in the UK, ESPN in the US, and FOX Sports Asia across Southeast Asia.
Short film remake
Meanwhile, Charles Leclerc will physically take to the streets of the Principality early on Sunday morning under the orders of famed film director Claude Lelouch.
Lelouch’s distinguished career includes the acclaimed classic 1966 film ‘A Man and a Woman’, notable for the racing background of one of its main characters played by actor Jean-Louis Trintignant, the nephew of two-time Monaco GP winner Maurice Trintignant.
But Lelouch’s body of work also includes the epic short film ‘C’était un Rendez-vous’ which depicts a driver’s eight-minute mad dash from Paris’ Porte Dauphine to Montmartre, a sequence entirely shot in a single take in the early hours of the morning with an onboard view and supported by the roaring sound of a Ferrari 275 GTB rushing past many of the beautiful city’s landmark sites.
The French director and cinematographer will attempt a Monegasque remake of the latter – called ‘Le Grand Rendez-vous’ – during which Leclerc will rush a Ferrari road car fitted with cameras around Monaco’s closed course.